Bad words are costing Hartford Public and Bulkeley high schoolers $103 each.

Police officers assigned to the schools have fined about two dozen students for cursing in a new program to curtail unruly behavior. The joint effort by school and police officials targets students who swear while defying teachers and administrators.

"We're sending a message to the parents and to the teachers," said Sandy Cruz-Serrano, senior adviser to Superintendent of Schools Robert Henry. "We are trying to bring back order to the schools."

Parents are required to pay the fines if the students cannot.

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20051201071609990025

ch19079

12-01-2005, 10:46 AM

i dont like the idea of a school handing out "fines". i can understand their problems, but i dont think a fine is the way to go.

whats the penalty for cursing in public there? is it a fine?

Talos

12-01-2005, 05:43 PM

all I can say is **** them :)

darkmistress

12-01-2005, 08:02 PM

good, serves the little punks right...

RunningBackGuru

12-01-2005, 09:46 PM

Wow, a fine is kinda harsh. Well, we get suspended at my high school if we swear. Only some teachers report it though.

dolphinfan2k5

12-01-2005, 10:08 PM

That's so incredibly stupid. You get frustrated and let a word slip, that's 100 bucks out of your pocket. I could see if it was happening constantly and disrupting class.

Caps

12-01-2005, 10:15 PM

Thats unfair.

RWhitney014

12-01-2005, 10:38 PM

all I can say is **** them :)

Heh, I was waiting for that.

darkmistress

12-01-2005, 11:10 PM

That's so incredibly stupid. You get frustrated and let a word slip, that's 100 bucks out of your pocket. I could see if it was happening constantly and disrupting class.

That's just the thing kids should not be talking back to their teachers. It's stupid punk arse kids that disrespect their teachers that bring the school and the other students down. The more people do it the more acceptable it becomes. To me it's really sad that in order to try and stop it it's had to come to something like this.

spydertl79

12-01-2005, 11:50 PM

I would take them to court if they fined me and probably put in a call to my local ACLU office.

dolfan_101

12-02-2005, 12:00 AM

That's crazy i know kids and teachers that cuss, and they do it right in front of eachother. i think i fine is kinda' excessive but not a bad idea i guess.

ch19079

12-02-2005, 10:16 AM

i dont see why schools have diffrent rules and punishments than the "outside world".

if you walk up to a kid on the street and punch him in the face, they call the cops. but if you punch a kid in the face at school, you only have to stay a few hours late, or have "in school suspention" for a few days.

all i know, is that calling your family from jail so they can bail you out for assault, is a bigger eye opener than "in school suspention" or a fine.

Gonzo

12-02-2005, 02:55 PM

That's just the thing kids should not be talking back to their teachers. It's stupid punk arse kids that disrespect their teachers that bring the school and the other students down. The more people do it the more acceptable it becomes. To me it's really sad that in order to try and stop it it's had to come to something like this.

Exactly the reason we have a shortage of teachers. The kids have zero responsibility and their parents are to blame. Teachers have no way of enforcing order. Hell, they can probably be sued for yelling at a kid. It's sad that it has had to come to this. Teachers are expected to just put up with being insulted by a little punk *** kid, which is not only demeaning to them, but disrupts other students' education. People listen when they start losing cash.

This is exactly the reason I will never follow what my family has done since the 1800's and be a teacher. Not below college level anyways.

Talos

12-02-2005, 04:41 PM

Heh, I was waiting for that.

Glad I didn't disappoint.

Seriously though, the fine does nothing to the kids necessarily. I don't know about you guys but I didn't have $100 laying around when I was a freshman. My parents would have paid.

When I was in school I would have been fined and I wasn't the worst kid. I have a bad mouth, I always have. It's the environment I was raised in. I've had teachers go off on me in class and I've responded. Not to be defiant, but because it was my initial reaction. A fine wouldn't have made not do it. As a teenager, money wasn't that important to me. I know that sounds odd, but especially as a younger teenager. You live with your parents, and your life is pretty much covered usually. A system that punishes the student and not the parent would work better. Some parents, no matter what, just aren't going to teach their kids anything.

Also, this system is going to be subject to favoritism just like everything else. Some people are going to get away with tons of things while some are going to get thrown under the bus. It's nice to see something getting done, but there has to be a better, more reasonable, solution.

Gonzo

12-02-2005, 08:12 PM

Glad I didn't disappoint.

Seriously though, the fine does nothing to the kids necessarily. I don't know about you guys but I didn't have $100 laying around when I was a freshman. My parents would have paid.

When I was in school I would have been fined and I wasn't the worst kid. I have a bad mouth, I always have. It's the environment I was raised in. I've had teachers go off on me in class and I've responded. Not to be defiant, but because it was my initial reaction. A fine wouldn't have made not do it. As a teenager, money wasn't that important to me. I know that sounds odd, but especially as a younger teenager. You live with your parents, and your life is pretty much covered usually. A system that punishes the student and not the parent would work better. Some parents, no matter what, just aren't going to teach their kids anything.

Also, this system is going to be subject to favoritism just like everything else. Some people are going to get away with tons of things while some are going to get thrown under the bus. It's nice to see something getting done, but there has to be a better, more reasonable, solution.

And that is who is responsible, the parents. Teach your damn kids some discipline (not directed at you Talos). Taking a few bucks out of their wallet may just do that.